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I’ve been sent a pack of Marley Coffee for my sins (read ‘love of coffee’) to try out and whilst I wouldn’t normally drink anything I didn’t see ground before my eyes I thought I might give it a go.

I must say they have gone all out on the Bob Marley heritage with phrases like ‘stir it up’, ‘lively up’ (being the variety of coffee) and a lyric from the great man himself from No woman no cry. A couple of interesting things I noticed on the packaging were the Soil Organic association logo, attesting to it being organic and reference to a charity that supports the Kicks for Cause Foundation which is a charity for youth football programmes.

Marley Coffee bears the signature of his son Rohan Marley, and the ethos around the business is paying tribute to the legacy of Bob, his origins and philosophy.

Enough about branding already, let’s see what the coffee has to offer. The first thing that struck me was the rich aroma from the bag – a good sign already. As I was brewing it a colleague walked in and remarked that it had an ‘enticing aroma’ (his own words), so I offered him the pack and I’m awaiting his take on it, hopefully before I finish writing this piece.

As I am writing this line the coffee is brewing beside me and all I can say that you can’t beat organic, or a good roaster for that matter.

OK here goes…

It has a nice strong and pleasing taste (I don’t take milk in filter coffee) but not as strong as I thought it would be. I would recommend doubling the ratio of coffee to water as recommended on the pack if as I do, you like your espresso. Definitely an excellent brew to have in the house for the Saturday morning papers or to impress visitors with your taste in coffee.

The Lively Up roast is an medium ground espresso blend which claims to be ‘full bodied with hints of candied fruit and sweet caramel’ which would explain why I didn’t get the kick I was expecting but still had that satisfying feel from a good cup of joe. I guess if I was expecting a kick I would probably go for the ‘Buffalo Soldier’ blend instead.

I’m off to see what my colleague thinks, back in a mo…

The filter coffee man himself has given it four out of five stars so there you have it. He takes his with milk by the way.

Marley coffee will be at Caffe Culture 2013, holding at Olympia in London from 15th -16th May.

That lively up label would’ve made a great resealable sticker – there’s a thought